Rounded bolt

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Carl McFly
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Rounded bolt

Unread post by Carl McFly »

Before I break out the angle grinder, drill, tap & die and who knows what else... question for the Jeep guru's out there. My passengers side rear shock, upper bolt, outboard side (closest to the frame rail) - it looks likes two of the 6 points are rounded (this happened in spite of me hammering on a 6 point socket, to get a solid grip). Between my beefy gas tank skid, my fat Banks Monster exhaust and the bolts close proximity to the frame (I can't get a 1/2" drive socket on there, not enough room), I'm on a last ditch effort for ideas to get that bolt out, instead of drilling it out

To get a drill in there, I'll need to cut off at least the lower half of the shock to make room. And may have to drop the exhaust. And my other concern is getting a tap in there once I have it drilled out

So my question is (and I think I know the answer), is drilling the best option or is there some Jedi Jeep tricks that I don't know about? At this point, I'm more than willing to go to the dark side
"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads"
Kodi
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Re: Rounded bolt

Unread post by Kodi »

Doug said...bolt still needs out.

Knock off nut from frame with chisel and hammer from ontop of the frame, then use a regular nut and bolt to reassemble.
DIFFERENT ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER, BUT BETTER IS ALWAYS DIFFERENT"

Dale Dauten
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mark2215
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Re: Rounded bolt

Unread post by mark2215 »

exactly what I did. I broke 3 of the 4 bolts so I used an air chisel to remove the factory nuts then used regular bolts/nuts/washers to reassemble. It's a little tight getting a wrench on top to hold the nut but it's definitely doable.
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Carl McFly
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Re: Rounded bolt

Unread post by Carl McFly »

Thanks all. I used an air chisel on some of them, when I did my last lift. Guess I was looking for an easy way out but we all know that's not going to happen. This is prolly the last factory bolt on the rear shocks. Looks like I'll be dragging my compressor out to finish the job


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"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads"
Kodi
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Re: Rounded bolt

Unread post by Kodi »

wooooo hooooooo! I tagged you on Fbook, found some nuts, and bolts for you ...didn't know if you wanted them.
DIFFERENT ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER, BUT BETTER IS ALWAYS DIFFERENT"

Dale Dauten
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Carl McFly
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Re: Rounded bolt

Unread post by Carl McFly »

Kodi wrote:wooooo hooooooo! I tagged you on Fbook, found some nuts, and bolts for you ...didn't know if you wanted them.

:lol: yeah thanks Kelly
"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads"
beaker
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Re: Rounded bolt

Unread post by beaker »

Give a small hint after doing this (and grinding out the broken tap... )

Put the bolt in from above. Its much easier to get the nut on it... :)
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